Delhi Lt Governor condoles railway station stampede deaths, later edits the post

Delhi’s Lt Governor VK Saxena expressed grief over the tragedy but later edited his post to remove mentions of the stampede and loss of lives.

Another tragedy related to the ongoing Maha Kumbh unfolded late Saturday night at the New Delhi railway station as at least 18 people died in a stampede after scores of people rushed to board trains for the mela. This comes just weeks after a stampede broke out at the Maha Kumbh mela itself on the eve of Mauni Amavasya, resulting in deaths of thirty people as per official figures.

The stampede that caused at least 16 casualties, including children, occurred on platforms 14 and 15 of the New Delhi railway station.(PTI)

Delhi’s Lt Governor VK Saxena expressed grief over the tragedy through a post on X. However, he later edited the post and removed the bit about the loss of lives due to the incident.

The original post read, “There has been an unfortunate and tragic incident of loss of lives and injuries due to disorder & stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy. Have spoken to Chief Secretary & Police Commissioner and asked them to address and redress the situation.”

The original version of Lt Governor's post on X.(X/@LtGovDelhi)

However, the latest version of the post reads, “There has been an unfortunate incident at New Delhi Railway Station. Have spoken to Chief Secretary & Police Commissioner and asked them to address the situation,” with removal of the bit mentioning stampede and loss of lives due to it.

The edit was done within fifteen minutes, reported news agency PTI.

Follow latest updates here: New Delhi Railway Station stampede updates: High-level probe ordered after 16 killed

Lt. Governor visits hospital

VK Saxena also visited those injured in the stampede at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain Hospital and asked the officials to extend relief measures, the report added.

The stampede that caused at least 18 casualties, including children, occurred on platforms 14 and 15 of the New Delhi railway station, where passengers scrambled to catch trains for the Maha Kumbh mela, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings.

Many political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi’s acting Chief Minister Atishi have expressed grief over the unfortunate incident.

PM Modi, through a post X, said, “Distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede.”

Atishi, who went to meet those injured in the stampede at the hospital, shared a post on X and said, “The tragic and heart-wrenching deaths of devotees heading to Mahakumbh in the accident at New Delhi Railway Station are extremely sad. I visited LNJP Hospital to meet the families of the victims. Many people are also injured, whose treatment is ongoing.”